The publisher AI adoption model

From denial to productization

Brian Morrissey

Brian Morrissey

— 5 min read

Happy Advertising Week Eve. I still maintain they never should have gotten rid of the Parade of the Ad Icons through Times Square. We need unifying moments.

Today:

Reminder: Upgrade your subscription to a TRB Pro membership. It’s $200 per year for access to all of The Rebooting’s content, invites to events like an upcoming live podcast we’re doing in NYC in December, preferred access to The Rebooting Dinner Series, and a new texting community I will absolutely get up and running this month.  

Smart ads, stronger connections

In a world where attention is fleeting, why settle for the ordinary? Onyx by Outbrain combines high-attention ad placements with bespoke creative solutions to create powerful moments of engagement. Powered by predictive technology and AI, Onyx pinpoints exactly where your brand can make the biggest impact. From eye-catching ads to customized interactive experiences, Onyx helps you captivate the right audiences at the right time. Ready to go beyond the click?

Transform your brand's impact

Fitt Insider's Anthony Vennare on niche media models

Fitt Insider, a media brand for the fitness and wellness industry, is a good example of the type of media brand that hits on many of the current trends in the industry:

  • Niche. The fitness and broader wellness industry is a growing area that will only expand.
  • B2B.  The most robust media models are B2B or targeting influential audiences with similar approaches.
  • Direct. Fitt relies on podcasts for engagement and its 100,000 email subscriber list for audience data and a direct connection. 
  • Organic. Too many newsletters are growth hacked. Fitt Insider has traded slower growth for a quality list that has open rates near 75%.
  • Expertise. Fitt Insider’s founders, Anthony and Joe Venare, are fitness industry experts, having owned gyms and invested in the space.
  • Media flywheel. The best media models tend to make most of their money in media-adjacent areas. For Fitt, this is through its recruiting and consulting arms.

Anthony Vennare joined me on The Rebooting Show to break down the Fitt Insider model, and how he views media more expansively. That’s led him to forgo the typical ads and marketing heavy approaches to monetization. 

Listen on Apple | Spotify | other podcast platforms

The biggest challenges facing news publishers

The Rebooting’s State of Sustainable News Businesses report surveyed 97 news publishers.

On challenges, our respondents identified traffic loss, as the social era fades from memory and search becomes less reliable. Just as pressing: shifting ad demand as advertisers favor performance marketing and avoid news content.

Get the full report. Thanks to Outbrain for sponsoring this research.

AI as opportunity

My 2025 trend prediction is publishers will start to see the possibilities in AI rather than treating it as just another threat or excuse to ask for alms from tech companies. My Kubler-Ross model goes something like this:

  • Protests. This is the initial phase of any tech disruption. It focuses on how unfair it all is.
  • Defense. This phase is marked by blocking AI crawlers, threatening legal actions against some, striking deals, and tracking AI crawlers for future licensing.
  • Efficiency. The more-with-less era requires publishers to get slimmer. 
  • Personalization. AI is already very good at versioning, and it is resetting consumer expectations.
  • Productization. Publishers will seize on AI to create entirely new products.

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